Ex nihilo, out of nothing. When you began your business, it may have been an idea you brought to life with your own ingenuity and hard work. But now, if your company has grown at all, it also bears the image of other creators. Key employees have contributed ideas, talent, a history of hard work and a pool of knowledge that is significant to the value of your company.
Economists Thomas Malthus and David Ricardo called this “surplus value” that owners retain at the expense of employees, but you…
